Into The Night And Assorted Scenes
by Marzi
Summary: When an old enemy resurfaces, Sarah Jane abandons Bannerman Road.
1. Into The Night

_Into The Night_

Sarah tightened her grip on the steering wheel, determined to get farther before she started crying. The night sky above her was tainted with the orange glow of city lights, and despite her best efforts, the view began to blur. Angrily she rubbed at her eyes, trying to banish the tears.

There was no way around this. This was the one thing she couldn't risk with them.

She looked to the passenger seat where there was a large bundle of cloth. Mr. Smith's crystal core was wrapped up under the blanket, one of the few things she knew she needed to take with her. It had been a rush job, breaking open the super computer's case to get his brain out. Hopefully he would forgive her when she found a new place for was also a hurriedly packed suitcase thrown in the back, and most of what it held wasn't clothes.

Sarah turned her eyes back to the road. "I won't let them get hurt." The mantra gave rise to a rush of protectiveness in her, and she felt the flow of tears slow. "I won't let them get hurt."

The Crimson Chapter had built itself up again, only now there was nothing holding them back from their belief in alien apocalypse. They knew aliens were here. They now believed she was a levy in front of the rising water, stopping their end of days. Their mission was the same, their reasoning hardly differing.

She couldn't let them near her young family. They could do too much damage.

"I won't let them get hurt."

* * *

_Old Friends_

Sarah felt nervous. It didn't help that she was tired, and her old, overwhelming, sense of paranoia had begun to creep back. She raised a shaking hand and knocked.

"Just a minute!"

Hearing the voice made her chest ache. Did she have a right to do this? There was the sound of the lock being undone, and she knew she had just one more second in order to run before she had to face her decision.

She didn't move. The door opened.

"Hello, Nat."

* * *

_Software Update_

"Sarah this is.. this is amazing."

Hands wrapped around a warm mug of tea, Sarah felt herself give a genuine smile in response to Natalie's enthusiasm. "Knew you'd like him." She took a sip of her drink.

On the table in front of them was a laptop, screen a continuous flow of information. The Xylok crystal lay next to it, glowing faintly.

"Him?"

"Just wait. I know he's going to like you too."

* * *

_Focus_

All of his professors noticed the slip. Determined to discover what had happened to such a promising student, Luke suddenly found himself confronted after class and in hallways.

They gave him a week to 'readjust' to the knowledge that his mother was missing, but after that he should focus on his work. After all, wouldn't that be what his mother would want?

He stayed up late with K-9, doing everything he could to try and track her down.

His focus continued to slip.

* * *

_Insomnia_

Sarah pushed her glasses out of the way and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were tired, _she_ was tired, but it was too difficult to sleep. Instead of laying in bed she had gone into the living room to read through the information Mr. Smith and Natalie had managed to pick up for her.

Dread crawled up in her as she read.

They had some players mapped out, but there was someone behind it all. The Crimson Chapter had rebuilt itself- but from the help of who, or what?

Sarah didn't like not knowing the full picture, and it was keeping her up at night.

* * *

_Tracks_

Sarah practically threw herself down the nearest alleyway the moment she spotted them. Her heart continued to race in her chest, refusing to slow.

It had been far too long since she'd been able to see them in person.

Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, determined not to break. "Oh, K-9," she sighed, eyes filling with tears as she reached into her bag for her sonic lipstick. Despite Mr. Smith and Natalie's best efforts, her dog had picked up her scent and lead them straight to her. She couldn't let them find her. Not yet. This was the one thing they couldn't help with.

Stepping out of the alley, she pointed her lipstick in the direction of Luke, Clyde and Rani. Next to them, the tin dog froze before exploding into a shower of sparks.

* * *

_Bait_

"Where are you going Sarah?"

She froze at the sound of Natalie's voice.

"Sarah?"

The accusation in her tone made her turn away, unable to face her friend. "The address left for me."

"You agreed to wait. Sarah, they're baiting you, you need to calm down before you go and confront them."

"I am calm."

The stillness in her voice made Natalie's skin crawl.

"I can't sit around while they threaten.. I can't wait." Sarah wasn't stopped as she headed for the door a second time.

* * *

_Blood_

"Don't think you being here can save them," he spat.

Sarah kept her face blank and calm, but she wanted to shout, scream- demand to know why they were doing this. After all of the death, all that happened before, why did they want to do it all again?

"We've always known about your son. His friends." The man continued.

The weight in her hand was uncomfortable, but she was familiar with the motions. She didn't hesitate.

* * *

_Restless_

"Do you have it?"

"Hold on Sarah."

The older woman resumed her pacing, stepping on and over old cups of hot chocolate and empty take out containers.

"Do you have it?" She repeated as she passed by again.

"Wait," Natalie snapped. "We're doing our best, and you aren't helping." The Xylok at the hacker's side flashed various colors on his screen.

"What was that?" Sarah asked.

"Just Mr. Smith. He says 'be patient'."

The journalist threw up her hands in defeat.

* * *

_Solo_

"I'm going alone."

"Sarah that's mad, you'll get killed," Natalie was practically shouting.

"Then it would be no good for you to be there to die as well!" She countered.

"Nothing's changed from the old days then. Use me, then push me aside. Josh isn't here to run after you Sarah, who's going to watch your back?"

She couldn't find a way to respond to that.

* * *

_The Man Behind the Curtain_

"Who are you?" Sarah demanded. Months of research had yielded nothing but a sketchy calender of his whereabouts; and even that was uncertain.

He smiled at her, putting his hands on her arms, which were tied to the chair she was sitting in. "Something beyond yourself, miss Smith."

She held her ground against his closeness, though she wouldn't have been able to retreat if she wanted to. "For something beyond you seem rather fixated."

"I am not the one who is fixated.. I simply point others in the right direction. Their drive is not mine."

"And who are you to do the conducting?"

His smile held as he moved away from her. "I am the Black Guardian."

* * *

_The Light at the End of the Tunnel_

Sarah had experienced a great deal in her life. The wonders of the universe, space and time had been laid out before her once. Happiness and amazement, simple joys and discovery. There was also pain, physical and emotional. Old scars, faded with time, but still present; those were both abundantly physical and emotional.

Yet the all encompassing nothingness she was experiencing in that moment somehow dulled everything, as if they were dreams her waking mind couldn't hold onto. She couldn't properly feel or think, she just knew that there was nothing around her, soaking into her skin.

Then there is a flash, and for a moment she could fully perceive again.

There was a man, and Sarah wasn't certain if he was radiating light or wearing the purest cloth. He smiled and simply said, "You're going to be alright."

* * *

_Fate_

When Sarah opened her eyes it was dark, but she could see a thin strip of light at the bottom of a door. She pulled her wrists apart, but the ropes binding her hands together bit into her sore flesh and she immediately stopped.

She could hear shouting outside the door, panic mixed with anger, and figured she either about to die, or be discovered.

Sarah closed her eyes and waited for fate to decide which one would happen first.

* * *

_White Knights_

"You were disbanded."

The man across from her smiled, "yes, well, when we heard they had regrouped we.. re-banded. Which is how we caught news of your capture so quickly. Though we followed your previous wishes, we knew that if they were to rise again you would need our help."

Sarah looked away from him to others standing behind him. They all seemed too young to be a part of something so dangerous. Just like those she left to protect...

"I must say I'm glad we found you when we did."

"Yes," she looked back to him. "Thank you for the rescue."

"Just our duty, Herald."

* * *

_Breakthrough_

Natalie was uneasy around the cultists, preferring to ignore them as politely as she could. Maneuvering around where three of them were huddled together, she moved towards the woman sitting in the corner alone.

"Sarah?"

She turned at the sound of her name, hands massaging her wrists. They were still raw from where the ropes had bit into them.

There had been an uneasy tension in the flat for days now, but Natalie managed to break it with a smile. "The firewall, I've gotten through."

It took a moment for the message to sink in, when it did Sarah was suddenly more alert, almost alive again. "Wonderful! What have you-?"

"Mr. Smith is compiling what we need now. We can find them."

* * *

_The End_

"I have to say, leaving the heavy lifting to someone else is something I could get used to."

Sarah frowned at Natalie. "Forgive me if I'm not so quick to trust someone else's word."

"I thought you were past that."

"Oh Nat, I'm sorry. It's just.."

"Hard to believe this is really over?"

She snorted, unamused. "That's what we said last time."

"But now it's true. You've even seen it with your own eyes."

Sarah turned away from her friend, uneasy.

"You were there," Nat questioned, voice hesitant. "Weren't you Sarah?"

She nodded. "It's just.. it's not what I've seen Nat, it's what I've done."

"You've done worst in the past," Natalie pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose it was a bit naive of me to think I could leave it there."

* * *

_Offer_

"Thank you.. I can't even.. just.. thank you. Natalie, thank you."

"You can stop with the praise. All I did was sit around." She hoped the joke doesn't fall flat, and was glad to see Sarah smiling back at her.

There was a moment of quiet contentment between them before Sarah's smile slowly faded away, and she began to look worried.

"Sarah? What is it?"

"We parted on such bad terms last time.. well. I was wondering now, well, not wondering. I wanted to ask.. invite."

Natalie tried to hold back her laughter. "It's not like you to not know what words to use."

"It isn't, is it? I suppose I just want you to visit, after all of this."

"That goes both ways then."

"Good."

* * *

_Home_

She didn't go to the house. Sarah knows that there's somewhere much more important that she has to be.

It feels strange, heading towards that which she had to run away from for so long. She's scared, used to having to drive herself away from this thought. Yet the closer she gets the more she feels relieved. It's over. It is finally, truly, over, and this is how she gets to confirm it.

She doesn't know what she can say, and when she sees him she knows at that moment it doesn't really matter.

Sarah wraps her arms around her son and finally knows that she's gotten home.


	2. Alternate Ending

A/N Here's an alternate ending. If you were to read it with this in place, it picks up after 'The Man Behind the Curtain'.

* * *

_Uniform_

There's a bang and Sarah throws her chair to the side, crashing to the ground with it. Most of her is still tied to it, and puts renewed vigor in her determination to get free when the sound of gunfire breaks out around her.

Shouting and the sound of footsteps grows, but another boom is accompanied by gas and she suddenly finds it very difficult to see. Wrists raw and likely starting to bleed, Sarah continues to pull on the ropes binding her. Her eyes sting and she starts to cough, giving away her position to those who sent in the grenade.

Boots come into her field of vision and Sarah catches sight of a UNIT badge before passing out.

* * *

_Temptation_

"I can't go home."

"Ma'am-"

"I can't." Sarah repeated, feeling a great part of herself rebelling against the decision. "I have to protect my son. Facing these people is the only way I can be sure."

The UNIT officer frowns at her.

"I've.. encountered these people before. They didn't stop until they were nearly decimated. This time.. I can't stop until I'm sure."

* * *

_Wreckage_

The second explosion of the day sends Sarah crashing to the pavement. Her body aches, and as she lays on the ground she bitterly curses getting older. Pushing herself up she turns to look back, catching sight of the smoldering van that had been UNIT's mobile HQ.

She jumps to her feet and starts to run.

They had been investigating the smuggling of alien tech, unaware of the centuries old conflict they had stumbled upon. The wreckage behind her tells Sarah that she did the right thing not contacting UNIT beforehand.

* * *

_Calvary_

She almost didn't go back to the flat, but after everything she put her through, Sarah knows that she owes Natalie at least a goodbye. The destruction of the UNIT small forces team by the Crimson Chapter just reminded how she needed to work alone to prevent any unnecessary casualties. She had made a mistake, getting Nat re-involved in the whole mess. She had been living a decent life until she come and pulled it apart.

Sarah quickly opens the door and slips inside, freezing when she hears the sound of voices. Her heart thumps wildly in her chest and she dashes the few short steps down the hall. She stops herself, hand bracing against the wall, wondering if she's gone mad.

The Doctor looks up from where he's seated, looking oddly hurt. "You didn't tell her anything about me?"

Natalie hides a smile in her cup of cocoa.

* * *

_Dues Ex Machina_

"It can't be that simple."

"No, nothing's ever that simple." The Doctor clarifies, adjusting his bow-tie. "It's just easier to say it my way."

"Easier? Nothing you say is ever easy to understand." Sarah protests.

"Timey-whimey is easier than-"

"Look Doctor, I don't care. You can help.. I just need to say thank you."

"Well, I suppose I get to say you're welcome." He beams at her, pressing the button on his TARDIS console.

The time ship began to dematerialize.

* * *

_Old Habits_

"Why did you go off on your own, when there was trouble?"

"I don't know.. I was used to it, I suppose."

"Used to it? Haven't you spent the last few years happily working with others to save the planet?" The Doctor pointed out.

"This is a different situation."

"Why?"

"I lost.. so much last time. I couldn't do it again. Especially not my son."

There was a moment of silence before he whispers, "I'm sorry."

"Don't," Sarah says immediately. "Please.. don't."

* * *

_Thank You_

"Now that the Black Guardian isn't protecting the benefactors, tracking down the leaders of the Crimson Chapter shouldn't be so difficult. Well.. getting them to comply shouldn't be difficult. Which means once you've got one, you'll get the others. Dominoes. It'll be like dominoes. And I'll do my share and keep my eye out for doomsday cults of the future. How about I take care of them next time?"

Sarah reflects a smile back at the Doctor, giving a curt nod to his last statement. "I want to keep thanking you."

"Want to?" His grin turned a little cocky. "Nothings stopping you."

"I don't think you deserve it." She suddenly blurts out, his smile vanishing. "Everything that happened before.. I just feel so angry about you not being there."

"I-"

"Don't try and apologize again Doctor. You can't be everywhere. You shouldn't have to be. It's just.. a childish reaction."

"Nothing childish in wanting your best friend to help you."

"Thank you."


End file.
